A £7 billion lawsuit against Google, which accuses the tech giant of exploiting its dominant position in the search engine market, can go to trial, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has ruled ).

The multi-billion suit, brought by consumer rights activist Nikki Stopford, claims the US giant exploited its dominance in the search market to increase advertising costs, which were ultimately passed on to consumers.

The complaint also accuses the company of abusing its market position by forcing mobile phone makers that use Google’s Android operating system to pre-install apps for Google Search and the company’s web browser, Chrome, on their phones, and paying Apple to ensure that Google is the default search engine on its devices, including the iPhone.

The court’s judgment rejected Google’s arguments in favor of striking out the application and certified the application, which can now be tried.

As a class representative in the action, Ms Stopford will represent all UK domiciled consumers aged 16 and over who purchased goods or services from a business selling in the UK which used the Search advertising services provided by Google.

The action is being brought as an opt-out class action, meaning that everyone affected in the UK is automatically included as claimants in the case unless they opt out .

“This green light from the court is a significant victory for British consumers,” Ms Stopford said.

“Almost everyone uses Google as their go-to search engine, trusting it to provide quality results at no cost. But its service is not truly free because its dominance has led to increased costs for consumers.

“Google has been warned several times by competition regulators. Yet it continues to rig the market to charge advertisers more, which increases the prices they charge consumers.

“This action aims to promote healthier competition in digital markets, hold Google accountable, and ensure that consumers are compensated for the harm caused by its behavior.”

The ruling is the latest setback for the tech giant, coming after the U.S. Department of Justice proposed that the company be forced to sell its Chrome web browser, among other remedies, after a U.S. judge ruled earlier this year that the company had a monopoly on the market. research.

In response to the CAT’s ruling, a Google spokesperson said: “We still believe this matter to be speculative and opportunistic – we will vigorously oppose it.”

“People use Google because it’s useful; not because there is no alternative.